Main menu

Further Workplace Health and Safety bosses will be grilled at the inquest into the Dreamworld disaster today, after a leading inspector admitted he had "no confidence" in the emergency procedures in place on the Thunder River Rapids ride.

Gag needed over CMC activities: O'Gorman

Politicians should be gagged from publicly discussing the work of Queensland's corruption watchdog during election campaigns, a top civil libertarian says.

Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman says the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has been used by political parties to score cheap points.

He says if politicians are the subject of CMC action during election campaigns, that should only be made public in the most extreme and urgent cases.

Mr O'Gorman said on Thursday CMC reviews or investigations had the potential to taint politicians, such as Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman, during campaigns leaving them with no recourse if matters were not resolved before polling day.

The CMC is currently reviewing a series of developer donations to Mr Newman's mayoral re-election fund before a controversial apartment tower project was approved.

It has promised to make the matter a priority but can't say if it will be resolved before the March 24 election, when voters will decide if they want Mr Newman as premier.

Mr O'Gorman said politicians, and the CMC itself, must be banned from talking about CMC activities during campaigns.

"We will be writing to the next Attorney-General saying the CMC Act should be amended to prevent publicity being given to anyone who refers a political opponent to the CMC during the course of an election campaign," he told AAP.

"Except in circumstances of the utmost seriousness and emergency."

Mr Newman has accused Labor of using the watchdog to further its smear campaign against him.

"The CMC is being used by the Australian Labor party as a political weapon," he told reporters on Thursday.

"It is very easy to make an allegation."

Premier Anna Bligh had threatened to refer Mr Newman to the CMC over the developer donations but this week said she lacked the evidence.

The CMC later confirmed it had generated its own complaint and was looking into the matter.